I think of all the puppets depicted in chapter four, I really enjoyed the "Devil's Violin." This is most likely due to the fact that I've always wanted to play the violin, but also because I thought it was adorable in a moderately creepy sort of way.
The puppet originated in Gdansk, Poland as a social commentary of the evils of secular music. As such, the puppet is comprised of an actual violin body with the various attributes of a violin representing body parts (tuning pegs = Creepy Eyes). I think what really works for this puppet is that it is considered a piece of avant-garde puppetry, but the puppet itself is actually quite crude.
As I've always found the violin to be a beautiful instrument in and of itself, I thought it was quite clever to invert the intricacies of the instrument (scrolling on the woodwork, the f holes, etc) and turn them into gruesome depictions of tantalizing evil. In doing this, I suppose the performers paved the way for art to criticize itself, to let society dictate what is appropriate through means of vilifying what encroached on puritanical ideals. Good work, Gdansk puppeteer. Good work.
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